Foundry mixing machine

ABSTRACT

A foundry mixing machine is disclosed for mixing a mold material component with a binder component comprising a mixer for dispersing the binder component into a dispersion and provisions for establishing a flow of the mold material component to traverse the dispersion a plurality of times to enable a complete mixing of the mold material and binder components. The foregoing abstract is merely a resume of one general application, is not a complete discussion of all principles of operation or applications, and is not to be construed as a limitation on the scope of the claimed subject matter.

United States Patent 1 1 [111 3,881,703

Rebish 1 May 6, 1975' FOUNDRY MIXING MACHINE 2,319,865 5/1943 James 99/534 2,953,359 9 1960 M 259 8 [75] lnvemcr Edward Reblsh Euclld' Ohm 3,359,942 12/1967 Pri ri ce 118/3ti3 [73] Assignee: Acme-Cleveland Corporation,

Cleveland, Ohio Primary Examiner-Robert W. Jenkins [22] Filed, Nov 19 1973 Attorney, Agent, 0rFirmWo0dling, Krost, Granger & Rust [21] App]. No.: 416,948

Related US. Application Data 57 ABSTRACT Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 305,839, Nov. 13, 1972, Pat. No. 3,850,413, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 211,925, Dec. 27, 1971, Pat. No. 3,773,229.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1937 Lamb 118/303 A foundry mixing machine is disclosed for mixing a mold material component with a binder'component comprising a mixer for dispersing the binder component into a dispersion and provisions for establishing a flow of the mold material'component to traverse the dispersion a plurality of times to enableva complete 13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FOUNDRY MIXING MACHINE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior 0.8. application Ser. No. 305,839 filed Nov. 13, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,850,413, which is a continuationin-part of application Ser. No. 211,925 filed Dec. 27, 1971, now US. Pat. No. 3,773,299.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to mixing machines and more particularly to foundry mixing machines for mixing a mold material component and a binder component.

The prior art foundry mixing machines can be generally divided into internal impeller machines and centrifugal machines. The internal impeller machines would clog and deteriorate the mold material component. A substantial amount of mold material component was also wasted at the beginning and end of each mixing cycle. Cleaning the machine after mixing was a difficult task and substantial wear was suffered by internal moving parts due to the abrasive quality of mold material, which often was sand.

The centrifugal machines attempted to disperse the binder into falling mold material. These machines did not provide uniform mixing since the machine dispersed the binder in large droplets and provided only one opportunity for the mixing. The problems with the impeller and centrifugal machines were compounded by the use of multi-component binders, which set rapidly. Consequently, these machines did not find ready acceptance in the foundry industry.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a foundry mixing machine capable of establishing a fine dispersion of the binder component.

Another object of this invention is to provide a foundry mixing machine which enables mixing a plurality of times.

Another object of this invention is to provide a foundry mixing machine capable of accommodating a variety of components with little waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION .The invention may be incorporated in a foundry machine for mixing a mold material component and a binder component, comprising in combination, mixer means for dispersing the binder component in a geometric direction, means for supplying the binder component to said mixer means, and means for establishing the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction to mix with the binder component and to subsequently traverse said geometric direction to enable additional mixingthereby.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a foundry mixing machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a rotor for use with the machine in FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I shows a foundry mixing machine comprising a housing 24 having a second housing attached by bolts 86 and 87. First and second reservoirs 21 and 22 store a first and a second binder component 61 and 62 which binder components may be pumped by suitable means (not shown) through component tubes 51 and 52 to a mixer 11.

The mixer 11 includes a removable rotor 15 mounted by nut 69 on a substantially vertical shaft 34 for rotation by a motor 35. The rotor 15 includes rotor opening means 60 shown as vertical slots having a long length relative to the width thereof. However, the rotor opening means 60 could be a series of small openings. Rotation of the rotor 15 provides centrifugal force to disperse the binder components through the rotor opening means 60 along a geometric line, namely a plane 53 as shown by the arrows.

A cylindrical gate 29 may be opened to discharge mold material 14, such as sand, to a director means 45, which is secured to housing 24.

Director means 45 comprises a first director 45A for directing mold material component 14 and which is falling by action of gravity to converge toward an axis of symmetry 36. A second director 45B directs the mold material component to slightly diverge from the axis of symmetry 36 to traverse the geometric line 53v extending through the rotor 15.

Converging means 54 includes a first converging element 54A which is mounted to housing 24 and supports diverting means 17, 33 by a plurality of supports 56A and 568. The diverting means includes a conical diverting surface 17 which is mounted on a shaft 23 connected to a motor 20. A circular cover 33 having a central aperture is attached to the diverting surface 17 by fasteners 43 with the circumference of the cover 33 having a downward deflecting portion 44 which extends out from the diverting surface 17. The diverting surface 17 and cover 33 rotate independently of the rotation of the rotor 15.

The converging means 54 includes a second converging element 54B which is pivotably mounted about an axis 70 to the first converging element 54A and converges the mixed binder and mold material component into a stream about the axis of symmetry 36. A liner 94 may be incorporated to protect the converging means making the apparatus easy to clean. The liner 94 may be made of an easily cleaned material such as plastic or may be a disposable material. Optional liners 154, 155, and 156 protect the first converging element 54A, circular cover 33, and conical diverting surface 17, respectively.

Operation of the mixing machine invention requires the motor 35 to rotate the rotor 15 to produce a surface speed of 3,000 to 16,000 feet per minute (5,000

15,000 RPM). The motor 20 is also energized to rotate the conical diverting surface 17 typically between and 2,000 RPM. The first and second binder components are supplied to the rotor 15 by component tubes 51 and 52. The rotation of the rotor 15 creates a centrifugal force to force the binder components through the rotor opening means 60 to be dispersed, in proximity to the rotor 15 in all geometric directions parallel to the geometric plane 53. The mold material component 14 is directed by the director means 45 to pass in proximity to the rotor and to fall as a curtain to traverse the dispersion of the binder components 61 and 62 to mix at mixing areas 71A and 72A when the mold material component is in a freely falling condition. This allows a greater binder penetration through the falling material and produces a more complete mixing. The rotating conical diverting surface 17 upturns the falling mold material component 14 to again traverse the geometric plane 53 to mix with the binder components 61 and 62 at the areas 728 and 718. The mold material travels nearly horizontally at this point to have a substantial component of its directional path parallel to the geometric direction on plane 53. The mold material component 14 continues the upward movement until striking the downward deflecting portion 44 of the circular cover 33 whereat the mold material component 14 is again mixed with the binder component at area 71C. The mold material component has an opportunity to mix with the binder components a minimum of 3 times. When the mold material component 14 and binder components 61 and 62 strike the downward deflecting portion 44, themixture is diverted to the converging elements 54A and 54B which converge the mixture into a stream about axis 36.

Optional means for establishing gas flow such as air or the like to the rotor 15 includes apertures 126 in the bottom of the rotor 15 and an upper and a lower rotor collar 111 and 112. An upper rotor shield 116 cooperates with the upper rotor collar 111 to enclose the top portion of the rotor 15 whereas a lower rotor shield 1 15 cooperates with the lower rotor collar 112 in a manner similar to the upper rotor shield 116. A plurality of apertures one shown as 1 19 are equally spaced about the conical diverting surface 17. The support 56A is hollow for establishing an air flow to the rotor 15 through an aperture 118 and apertures 119 and 126 to be dispersed through the rotor opening means 60. An air flow is also established from support 56A through aperture 118 to fan blade 109 to flow on the underside of the diverting surface 17 to eliminate turbulent air flow back to the rotor 15 and deposition of unwanted mold material and binder component. The air flows may be motivated by centrifugal force or may be under pressure such as the exhaust of motor 20, if an air motor. A fan blade 157 attached to the conical diverting surface causes a downward air flow to keep the first and second converging elements 54A and 548 free from unwanted deposits.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a modified rotor 15A compatible with the machine in FIG. 1 including rotor opening means 60A separated from rotor opening means 608 by separator 59. The separator 59 forms a first channel 151 for supplying the first binder component 61 from component tube 51 to rotor opening means 60A and a second channel 152 for supplying the second binder component 62 from component tube 52 to rotor opening means 60B.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the construction of rotor 15A including a bottom 66 connected by rotor surface 65 to a top portion 139 by screws 140 with the bottom and top portions 66 and 139 engaging the separator 59 therebetween.

The rotor 15A may be used with a fast curing twopart binder or a single component binder. The separator 59 prevents intermingling of the two binder components within the rotor 15, so as not to set up within this rotor. The improvements as presently set forth ,are

compatible and interchangeable with my prior inventions Ser. No. 211,925 filed Dec. 27, 1971, and Ser.

No. 305,839 filed Nov. 13, 1972, which are hereby incorporated by reference in the instant disclosure. 5 The invention has been set forth as a foundry machine for mixing a mold material component 14 and a binder component shown as a first and a second binder component 61 and 62, comprising in combination a mixer 11 for dispersing the binder component in a geometric plane 53, means for supplying the binder component 61 and 62 to the mixer shown as a rotor 15, and means 29, 45 for establishing a mold material component to traverse the geometric directions a line along plane 53 to mix with the binder component. The invention includes means 17, 33 to subsequently establish the mold material component to traverse the geometric direction along plane 53 to enable additional mixing thereby shown as diverting means 17.

The present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A foundry machine for mixing a mold material component and a binder component, comprising in combination:

a mixer for dispersing first and second binder components,

said mixer dispersing the first binder component in a geometric direction;

means for supplying the binder component to said mixer;

means for establishing the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction to mix with the binder component and to subsequently traverse said geometric direction to enable additional mixing thereby,

said separator means in said mixer to maintain separate said first and second binder components.

2. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said establishing means includes:

means for discharging the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction to mix with the first binder component;

diverting means;

and means for moving said diverting means to divert the mold material component to have a substantial component of direction parallel to said geometric direction to enable additional mixing thereby.

3. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said diverting means includes:

a conical diverting surface,

means for mounting said conical diverting surface to be inverted and below said mixer,

a circular cover having a central aperture for entrance of the mold material component,

said circular cover having a downward deflecting portion on the circumference thereof,

and means for mounting said cover to said conical diverting surface to establish said downward deflecting portion beyond the circumference of said conical diverting surface.

4. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said diverting means includes means to divert the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction a third time.

5. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, including a fan mounted to said diverting means for establishing an air flow to reduce undesired deposition of the mold material and binder component.

6. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mixer includes a rotor,

and means for rotating said rotor to disperse the binder component.

7. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 6, including a rotor shield cooperating with said rotor for shielding said rotor from the mold material component,

and means for establishing gas flow to said rotor within said rotor shield to be dispersed with the binder component.

8. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mixer dispersing the binder component includes said mixer dispersing a first and a second binder component,

and said establishing means establishes the mold material component to mix with the first and second binder components, respectively, and to subsequently mix with the second and first binder components, respectively.

9. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 8, wherein said mixer includes a rotor having a rotor surface being substantially perpendicular to said geometric direction,

said rotor surface having first and second rotor opening means,

and said separator moans separating said first and second rotor opening means to direct said first binder component to be dispersed by said first rotor opening means and to direct said second binder component to be dispersed by said second rotor opening means.

10. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein said rotor has substantially the shape of a cup,

said rotor surface being the side portion of said cup,

and said first and second rotor opening means being disposed alternately around said rotor surface.

11. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 10, wherein said rotor opening means has an effective length which is a major portion of the height of said cup.

12. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, including converging means for converging the mixed binder and mold material component into a stream;

said converging means having a first converging element in proximity to said mixer,

said converging means having a second converging element for forming a stream of the binder and mold component,

and said second converging element being movable relative to said first converging element for installation of a liner in said second converging element. 13. A foundry machine for mixing a mold material component and a first and a second binder component, comprising in combination:

rotor means for dispersing the binder components in a geometric direction;

said rotor means having a rotor surface with first and second rotor opening means being alternately disposed around said rotor surface;

means for supplying the first and second binder components to said rotor means;

and separator means separating said first and second rotor opening means to direct said first binder component to be dispersed by said first rotor opening means and to direct said second binder component to be dispersed by said second rotor opening UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,881,703 Dated May 6, 1975 lnventofls) Edward John Rebish It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

The term of this patent subsequent to November 26, 1991'; has been disclaimed.

Signed and Sealed this twenty-second D3) of June 1976 [SEAL] Y Arrest:

RUTI'I C. MA SON C. MARSHALL DANN Altestmg Ofjwer Commissioner nfPatents and Trademarks 

1. A foundry machine for mixing a mold material component and a binder component, comprising in combination: a mixer for dispersing first and second binder components, said mixer dispersing the first binder component in a geometric direction; means for supplying the binder component to said mixer; means for establishing the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction to mix with the binder component and to subsequently traverse said geometric direction to enable additional mixing thereby, said separator means in said mixer to maintain separate said first and second binder components.
 2. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said establishing means includes: means for discharging the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction to mix with the first binder component; diverting means; and means for moving said diverting means to divert the mold material component to have a substantial component of direction parallel to said geometric direction to enable additional mixing thereby.
 3. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said diverting means includes: a conical diverting surface, means for mounting said conical diverting surface to be inverted and below said mixer, a circular cover having a central aperture for entrance of the mold material component, said circular cover having a downward deflecting portion on the circumference thereof, and means for mounting said cover to said conical diverting surface to establish said downward deflecting portion beyond the circumference of said conical diverting surface.
 4. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said diverting means includes means to divert the mold material component to traverse said geometric direction a third time.
 5. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 2, including a fan mounted to said diverting means for establishing an air flow to reduce undesired deposition of the mold material and binder component.
 6. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mixer includes a rotor, and means for rotating said rotor to disperse the binder component.
 7. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 6, including a rotor shield cooperating with said rotor for shielding said rotor from the mold material component, and means for establishing gas flow to said rotor within said rotor shield to be dispersed with the binder component.
 8. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mixer dispersing the binder component includes said mixer dispersing a first and a second binder component, and said establishing means establishes the mold material component to mix with the first and second binder components, respectively, and to subsequently mix with the second and first binder components, respectively.
 9. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 8, wherein said mixer includes a rotor having a rotor surface being substantially perpendicular to said geometric direction, said rotor surface having first and second rotor opening means, and said separator means separating said first and second rotor opening means to direct said first binder component to be dispersed by said first rotor opening means and to direct said second binder component to be dispersed by said second rotor opening means.
 10. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein said rotor has substantially the shape of a cup, said rotor surface being the side portion of said cup, and said first and second rotor opening means being disposed aLternately around said rotor surface.
 11. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 10, wherein said rotor opening means has an effective length which is a major portion of the height of said cup.
 12. A foundry machine as set forth in claim 1, including converging means for converging the mixed binder and mold material component into a stream; said converging means having a first converging element in proximity to said mixer, said converging means having a second converging element for forming a stream of the binder and mold component, and said second converging element being movable relative to said first converging element for installation of a liner in said second converging element.
 13. A foundry machine for mixing a mold material component and a first and a second binder component, comprising in combination: rotor means for dispersing the binder components in a geometric direction; said rotor means having a rotor surface with first and second rotor opening means being alternately disposed around said rotor surface; means for supplying the first and second binder components to said rotor means; and separator means separating said first and second rotor opening means to direct said first binder component to be dispersed by said first rotor opening means and to direct said second binder component to be dispersed by said second rotor opening means. 